9/ Gender - Atypical gender development: Biological and Social explanations Flashcards
what is atypical gender development?
a gender identity disorder - an illness
what do people with gender identity disorder experience?
a mismatch between their biological sex and their gender identity. A sense of gender dysphoria (discomfort) because they identify more with the opposite sex that they were identified as at birth
what is GID recognised as a psychological disorder in?
DSM-5 as it causes stress and discomfort. includes intersex conditions such as klinefelters syndrome and turners syndrome - GID people identify themselves as transgender
what are three reasons why someone may be diagnosed with GID?
- a marked difference between individuals expressed gender and the gender others would assign him/her
- children - desire to be other gender is present and verbalised
- causes distress or impairment in social, occupational factors
what are the two parts of the biological explanation for GID?
brain sex theory and genetics
what is a summery of the biological explanation brain sex theory?
caused by unusual bran development in parts of the brain. region of brain called BSTc in the thalamus. 40% larger in males - the size correlates with psychological gender
what research is there to support brain sex theory for GID?
in a post -mortem studies of 6 male to females transsexuals the BTCs was found to be similar size to that of a typical female brain.
what conflicting evidence for the brain sex theory for GID?
researchers found that the differences in BTCs volume between female and male do not emerge until adulthood whereas most transsexuals don’t experience feelings of GID until childhood.
